Hiking Safety in Fall

Last Saturday, September 23, waterfowl hunting season opened with a bang just at dawn in nearby wetlands near our Minnesota home. Although hunting seasons occur throughout the year, fall is an especially big time for hunting. In both Minnesota and Wisconsin, archery and small and big game gun hunting gets started in mid-September and continues throughout most of the fall.

As hikers, we often find ourselves in areas like Wildlife Management Areas (WMA's), land conservancies or other public lands like county or state forests where hunting is allowed. How do we keep safe?

One of the easiest steps you can take is making sure you do your fall hiking with an item of blaze orange or blaze pink on your head and/or above your waist. By wearing a hat, vest, or shirt in those colors, you reduce your chance of accidents tremendously. It's best to purchase these items in the summer when you can find a variety of choices and weights for the clothing. Once the hunting seasons start, very little stock is left for you to choose from.

We also add yellow vests that we can put over our coats  Combined with our blaze orange hats it gives us extra peace of mind. 

While some people also suggest bright colors, the gold standard remains blaze orange and pink. Hunters are looking for those colors on the trails and those colors are your best bet to protect yourself.

You can also consider limiting your hikes to state and city parks during this period. Be aware that these parks often border private land or other state lands where hunting is allowed. Sometimes state parks will close trails that border on active fall hunting lands. 

Know where you are going and check ahead if possible to see if hunting is allowed. Sometimes parks or natural areas will put up notices on their websites or Facebook pages to help guide you.

Year-round hiking is tremendously fun. With a few protective garments, you can feel more comfortable and safer in autumn during hunting season.